Rick Renzi

Three-term Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican facing a federal inquiry into his family's insurance business, said he would not seek reelection next year. Renzi becomes the fifth GOP House member in recent weeks to announce retirement plans, giving Democrats hopes of picking up seats next year that otherwise seemed not to be in play.

WASHINGTON -- A former congressman convicted of 17 felonies including extortion, money laundering, bribery and insurance fraud was sentenced Monday to three years in prison. Former Rep. Rick Renzi, a three-term Republican from Flagstaff, Ariz., was convicted in June of using his influence in Congress to profit from a federal land deal and of using clients' insurance premiums to finance his first congressional campaign, the Justice Department said. In 2005, Renzi used his position to promote a land deal that brought millions of dollars to him and a business partner, James W. Sandlin, the Justice Department said in a news release.

WASHINGTON -- A former congressman convicted of 17 felonies including extortion, money laundering, bribery and insurance fraud was sentenced Monday to three years in prison. Former Rep. Rick Renzi, a three-term Republican from Flagstaff, Ariz., was convicted in June of using his influence in Congress to profit from a federal land deal and of using clients' insurance premiums to finance his first congressional campaign, the Justice Department said. In 2005, Renzi used his position to promote a land deal that brought millions of dollars to him and a business partner, James W. Sandlin, the Justice Department said in a news release.

Three-term Rep. Rick Renzi, an Arizona Republican facing a federal inquiry into his family's insurance business, said he would not seek reelection next year. Renzi becomes the fifth GOP House member in recent weeks to announce retirement plans, giving Democrats hopes of picking up seats next year that otherwise seemed not to be in play.

The Republican-led House voted Tuesday to break up the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, an action opponents said was motivated by conservatives' ire over some of the court's rulings. Nine Western states are covered by the 9th Circuit, but the legislation would leave only California and Hawaii in a revamped lineup.

President Bush promised victory in Iraq and safer schools while addressing standing-room-only crowds Wednesday at fundraisers in Arizona and Colorado. The appearances wrapped up his three-day swing through four Western states. Bush told a crowd of 450 at a morning fundraiser for Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) that winning the war in Iraq was key to protecting the country from terrorists. "You'll hear the Democrats say, 'Well, it's a distraction in the war on terror.'

Call it Clinton Inc.: Congressional financial disclosure reports released Thursday show that Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Clinton have assets valued from $10 million to $50 million, with the former president bringing in speaking fees of more than $10 million in just the last year. The disclosure forms filed by the New York Democrat detail the couple's remarkable financial transformation since they left the White House in 2001 encumbered by millions of dollars in legal debts.

In a major overhaul of how it polices itself, and in response to a spate of scandals that have tarnished Congress' image, the House voted Tuesday night to create a panel of outsiders to investigate ethics complaints against lawmakers. The measure establishes an independent Office of Congressional Ethics in answer to criticism that lawmakers have been reluctant to vigorously investigate their own.

Beginning a planned three weeks of intense travel, President Bush visited Michigan on Monday to try to turn a hard-fought House race into a Republican victory as he scraps for the critical seats that could mean the difference between a GOP or Democratic-led Congress for the next two years. The tentative schedule devised by the White House has him crossing the country as the Nov. 5 elections approach, spending no more than three full days at the White House.

President Bush stumped in the West Friday on behalf of two Republican House candidates--an unusual gesture by a president that underscores just how tight the race is for control of Congress. Bush appeared at three campaign events on Friday featuring two Republican House candidates in open seats that political analysts describe as toss-ups. The two districts--one in Colorado, the other in Arizona--are new, reflecting the burgeoning population growth that has moved America's voting power westward.

Among all the soaring weirdness on display during the presidential and vice presidential debates, most of us completely missed the fact that neither the president nor his vice president has a clue as to how courts really work. That's because at this moment in history, you needn't really understand courts to despise them.

The San Pedro River, one of the last free-flowing rivers in the Southwest and an oasis for hundreds of species of migratory birds, could be seriously depleted if Congress agrees to exempt a nearby military installation from water restrictions. Pushing for the exemption at Ft. Huachuca is Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), whose father is an executive at a firm with contracts worth more than $450 million at the post.